In November 2022 the Australian off road racing fraternity were going crazy over the news that an Australian developed Ford Ranger Raptor won its first motorsport event, in its Ranger Raptor’s global motorsport debut.
Crossing the line in 26 hours and 15 minutes – about 9 hours and 37 minutes behind the outright winner and finishing 83rd outright in a field of 137 finishers from 276 entries, the near standard Ford Raptor which was prepared, entered, and raced by a factory-backed Aussie crew, was the only vehicle in the ‘stock mid-class’ category to finish the event and take top honours at the international renowned Mexican 2022 Baja 1000.
Since then, the car has been in Australia and also won its class in the tough Finke Desert Race, so it’s not surprising that buoyed by this success, Ford America have decided to go for the ultimate crown, the 2024 Dakar Rally with multi-Dakar winner Carlos Sainz Sr behind the wheel.
This carsales.com.au article takes a closer look at the car and driver that Ford are pinning their off-road reputation on later this year.
Motorsport Ford Raptor T1+ Gunning for Dakar – carsales.com.au
As the carsales.com.au article mentioned, Ford debuted their Raptor T1+ at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed and with the legendary Carlos Sainz Sr behind the wheel, it performed admirably on the Hillclimb.
Ford Raptor T1+ dynamic debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed – Auto Media